Ni-metal-induced crystallization (MIC) of amorphous Si (a-Si) has been used to fabricate low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs). However, the leakage current of MIC-TFT is high. In this study, a chemical oxide layer was used to avoid excess of Ni atoms into a-Si layer during MIC process, which was simple and without extra expensive instrument. The minimum leakage current and on/off current ratio were significantly improved. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.